Boxes, Boxes, and More Boxes...

Moving with two small children is not for the faint hearted. But, thanks to some amazing help from the Moores (1,000 thanks to all of you!), we survived. Two weeks ago, on Wednesday the 10th, we closed on the house and spent our first night on mattresses on the floor. Then, Scott, Jason and Tom took Friday off of work and spent the better part of three days doing the heavy, grunt work of moving us in. Eli was battling what we thought was a cold, while we were packing up our old house, Keira started to sniffle, and by Sunday Scott was on the couch with what we think was the flu. Ugh! By Monday, I was right there with them. So, our first two weeks have been hairy at best, while we tried to unpack, Scott tried to work, and we all tried to recover. Fortunately, I think we've all recovered from the flu although, I'm on steroids, and Keira's using her nebulizer since ours went to our chest. Eli, who was the first to get sick, has finally gotten off his rescue inhaler after 2+ weeks. But.... our house is huge and gorgeous!

Our favorite room so far, is by far the playroom. It's huge and has space for all of us to hang out and play for hours. Being at home for hours on end here is no struggle. At our old house, the kids and I would have to leave, we'd get claustrophobic and cooped up. But, here, it's been a joy. Our yard is gorgeous, too. And, just on the other side of our backyard is one of our favorite playgrounds. Even though, Scott's had the whole week off for Thanksgiving, he's been busily building shelves and a tv stand to facilitate more organized unpacking. So, the kids and I have spent lots of hours on our own, while Daddy tries to finish his building projects before school starts again.

My favorite day with the kids so far, was a few days ago. We spent a leisurely morning playing in the playroom, then got ready and took the golfcart into downtown Senoia to one of our favorite destinations -- The Senioa Coffee Company. Eli loves their chocolate chip muffins. Then, we played around downtown Senoia, took the golfcart to the awesome playground downtown, then went home for naps. Later in the afternoon, we walked around the subdivision with the double stroller and later ended up in our subdivision's wonderful playground.

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Okay, so I wrote this post a LONG time ago, and finally just got around to posting it. I have not spent much time blogging lately (obviously!). I've just not gotten back in the swing since the move. I've also spent what little free time (nap time) I have during the day doing Zumba, which I love! Hopefully I'll get back in my routine soon and continue my sorely needed updates. :)

Halloween, Part I -- CDC Trick or Treat

Last Tuesday, Eli's preschool went Trick or Treating around the high school. At the last minute, when Dendi called to volunteer, I decided to dress up Keira and tag along. I'm so glad I did -- there were tons of great photo ops. This year, Eli decided to be Mickey Mouse. At the beginning of September, when we started looking at costumes online, he was interested in being Blue from Blue's Clues. The Blue costumes looked a little chintzy, but on the same page they showed some Mickey and Minnie costumes. Almost kiddingly (since I didn't think he'd want to), I suggested that he could be Mickey and Keira could be Minnie. He got really excited and wouldn't entertain any other ideas. Since I knew that their years of coordinating Halloween costumes were likely numbered I happily ordered the matching costumes. They turned out great.

Here's Keira showing off her "Mi Mou" costume and Minnie eating a pre-Trick or Treat cracker to build up her strength.



Before hopping in the car, I had the kids pose for a few photos. Of course, the ones of the two of them didn't turn out as I'd hoped, but they're still worth posting.




When we arrived at Eli's preschool Keira was in seventh heaven, as she is whenever I let her stay and play a little. She LOVES his school. She especially loves the slide in the middle of the room and the perfectly proportioned chairs. After taking a few slides she waited for no invitation to sit down and have a little breakfast.



Right after Dendi arrived, we all set out. It was great that Dendi came to help. At first, she held Keira which gave me the opportunity to hold Mickey's hand for a little while. Although, Kaitlyn held Eli's hand for most of the Trick or Treating around the high school. It's one of the great things about Eli's preschool program. They have so many teenage "teachers". On field trips and for special events, they each have a teenager assigned to them. Fairly quickly, Keira made her opinion known -- she was not a fan. I think she may have thought she was at the doctor's with all the long sterile hallways and small rooms full of strangers. Dendi and I left with Keira after about five rooms.



Keira recovered quickly once we left the high school and headed to Mike and C's for some brunch. Most of the restaurant was filled with retirees who were tickled to have a miniature Minnie in their midst.


After filling up, Dendi, Keira and I headed out for a walk and a trip to the park while we waited for Eli's preschool day to finish.



After I picked up Eli, we made once last appearance in their costumes. We drove to CLT to see Grammie at work. Fortunately, it was the most successful trip to the thrift store with both kids, ever. Eli slipped his costume over his shorts (he had taken it off when he got hot) and both kids seemed to enjoy the attention of my mom's coworkers. To make the trip even more magical, Grammie found Keira a perfect bike. The fact that the bike had to be stopped so that I could take the picture explains Keira's expression, but I absolutely love Eli's grin!

Spending Time with Dendi and Bapa, Part IV -- Hammering and Retiring

Early this school year, Scott spent a lot of time making tables and shelves in Bapa's garage. Occassionally, Eli would stay with Bapa and Daddy for a few minutes and help out or watch. One of the last construction days, Eli got in on the hammering and Scott created a hammer heavy task so Eli could hammer to his heart's content. Eli loved it.




As for school, Eli's had a slow start warming up to it. In the morning, he's sluggish and whiny and doesn't want to go. One morning, he even asked me when he gets to retire. Ugh. Then, the other morning, he told me that it wasn't fair that Keira and I get to stay home while he has to go to school. I assured him that I went to school when I was four, and Keira will be going when she's four.

Yet, when I pick him up he's always in a great mood and fairly enthusiastic about his day. So, who knows? He's learned a bunch of sweet songs that he proudly sings to us and he loves the days when he can do Moon Sand, glitter or eat cupcakes to celebrate a birthday. He adores his teacher, Ms. Via and giggles when he talks about the silly antics of some of his high school teachers. One teacher keeps finding dinosaurs (plastic figurines) in his ears!

When school started, he went through a wild, defiant period, and now he's worried a lot. He's worried about electricity getting inside him, getting stuck in a cement mixer and tornadoes. I'm hoping it's just another phase and part of the adjustment. I was chatting with Ms. Via about his worries one day and she talked about how normal they are since he's so smart. He's always thinking, and sometimes too much for his own good.

On the other hand, school's already opened him up socially in a big way. The other afternoon, when we went to visit Scott in his classroom. Eli strode down the hallway ahead of Keira and I and loudly greeted one of the teachers that he passed. When she saw me and Keira she took a double take and said that she didn't even recognize Eli since he greeted her so confidently. He said hi before she did, usually she would greet him and he would shyly turn away or only respond when prompted.

I've also noticed a change in him when we go to play at parks. He greets and plays with other children, when previously he would be quite content to stick to me and Keira. He's especially delighted when he runs into his friends from school. So, starting school has been a rocky but much needed adjustment. And, in the end, I think we'll all be better because of it.

He's bringing home a lot of artwork. And, this by far is my favorite. He drew and labeled a family portrait. Notice how he even included Kodi. So sweet.

Spending Time with Dendi and Bapa, Part III -- Water Girl!

I'm going to finally try to finish up these pictures from Dendi and Bapa over the last few months, although it will take a few more entries, here goes...

Keira continues to LOVE water. She plays in the sink every day, at least twice a day. Given her choice, it would be much more often. At Dendi and Bapa's house, when the weather was still hot, and she couldn't convince us that she should spend all day in the sink, she settled for a giant tupperware full of water or the fountain.





Keira also loves the golf cart. Here she was excitedly trying out her hand at driving Dendi and Bapa's.



Speaking of Keira... I'll take this opportunity to catch up on a little Keira news.

First, her eating...

Her eating has improved remarkably this past month. Her favorite food by far is spaghetti. I puree spaghetti for her or just give her the sauce. She also likes applesauce, crackers, chips, watermelon, cantaloupe, broccoli, apples, and string cheese. She will try to eat most things, but if it's solid, she will often keep parts of it in her cheek for what seems like hours. It reminds me of Eli and bacon -- we use to call it "bacon gum." I took her to the doctor today for her reweigh, and she had gained a pound and a half since last month. It was a huge relief. Our hard work has paid off. Unfortunately, she's still not drinking much, (with the exception of nursing) but since her weight was good the doctor didn't seem concerned. I'm sure she'll learn to like drinking from a cup, eventually.

Next, her talking...

She is talking up a storm. I'm sure I won't remember all of it, but I'll give it a shot. For a few months now, one of her favorite things to point out are "big poles." She points them out everwhere where we drive and when we park she wants to get out and touch them. When we park in our driveway, she starts chanting, "big pole, big pole, big pole!!!" Her favorite thing to do before going in the house is to go across the street with me or Scott and touch three big poles in a row. We have to start with the light pole, then the street sign pole and finally the Stop Sign pole. She leans way over to touch the poles, all the while grinning from ear to ear.

She likes the adjective "big" and adds it to many words including ball and flower. She's also saying water (waher), sink (dink), swing (ding), slide (dide), shoe (do), sock (dok), outside (diye -- which sounds a little like "Daddy"), car (tar), truck (tru), rock, chair, ball, cheese, apple, moon, book (buh), Mickey Mouse (Mi Mou), Dora (Dodi), stroller (strodi) and of course all the family names that she's had down for a while. Speaking of family names, she's still in love with all bow wows that she meets and calls Dendi and Bapa's dog Bunny, "Bun-bun" which is our affectionate nickname for the dog.

She has gotten down many animal sounds when you ask her what sound an animal makes -- Kitty cats (key cah) says mee-mow or she has an uncanny impersonation for a real cat's meow. A dog says bow wow. Birds say tweet tweet caw caw, which is a combination of two bird calls we taught her. Cows say moo. Sheep say baaa. Ducks say quack, etc.

She also has many of the names of body parts down as well as their locations. She says and points to nose (no), ear (eaw), eye, mouth (mou) and probably her favorite -- toe. She has a love and fascination with feet that rivals Scott's repulsion of them.

All in all, I'm having a ball with this stage. She is doing and saying new things every day. One of the cutest things about her is how musical she's always been. She LOVES music. She already has three distinct dance steps that include a twist type move, stomping and bouncing. Scott says he's already resigned himself to the fact that she'll be a dancer like her momma, and hopes desperately that she didn't inherit my ankles with my love of dance. She has also started singing along with a lot of songs like "Twinkle Twinkle" "Frere Jacque", "Old MacDonald", "BINGO", "The Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Theme" and "Hot Dog". It's absolutely adorable to be driving down the street hearing her belt out phrases and sounds from many songs.

Another thing that has made this stage so enjoyable is that her behavior has improved leaps and bounds. She still has a fiery streak in her, but she has all but stopped hitting and she is actually responding to "no". A few months back, we were at Three Ponds Park, which has become one of our favorite haunts. Eli was taking a little break from being a good example for his baby sister and started climbing up the slide. Of course, even though he stopped almost immediately, Keira wanted to try her hand. I said, not expecting her to really listen or react, "Please get off the slide and climb up the stairs." I practically fainted when she looked up at me and got off the slide and headed to the stairs. Wow!

House Update -- Pipes, Brick, Siding and Walls

The house building process continues to be extremely exciting. Yesterday, they started painting inside and outside of the house. Of course, I didn't have a camera with me, but I'll take a few soon. As for now, the most recent pictures I have document pipes, brick, siding and walls. First, right after framing the walls, they started installing plumbing including: the pipes, shower stalls and tubs.


One of the most exciting days was when they put in our brick. The kids fell asleep in the back of the car, and as we often do, we took a nap drive. As I've been doing since we've started building our house, I nap drive through our new subdivision so that I can watch the progress. Eli woke up at least a half and hour before Keira and he was interested in watching the bricklaying so I parked in front of our house. We watched for at least an hour. Both Eli and I thought that brick laying looked like fun, soothing work. Now Eli has added brick mason to his possible future careers along with teacher and Disney World employee. But, the only way that he wants to do those jobs is if I promise to work with him. :)

Here are pictures of the front of the house with our new brick and siding. That is not the final color of our siding, that's just the base color.


Using some of the extra brick, Scottie made some brick art for the kids.


One of our new neighbors generously offered to take our whole gang's photo on our new front porch. After she left, I asked Dendi to take a picture with just the four of us. Unfortunately, it didn't turn out. Eli was more than done with posing for pictures.


Finally, after working on the exterior, the work continued inside, on the walls. They took about a week to sheet rock, and once the walls were finished, the house looked much more like a house. Here's a view looking through the kitchen into the breakfast nook.


At this pace, the builder says that our house should be completed by the middle of November. That's a whole month earlier than our original closing date. Exciting!

Spending Time with Dendi and Bapa, Part II -- Chocolate!!!

One of the best things about Dendi's house is it's plethora of yummy food options. Dendi always has a healthy supply of Eli's favorite red chips (wavy Lays), Alpha Bits, oreos and chocolate. Of course, she has lots of healthy food too, but that's not what's important to Eli. As I've said many times before, his favorite thing in the world to eat is chocolate. He showed off his chocolate face for the camera.



Keira even got in on the chocolate fun, and ate (or smeared across her face) a few Oreos.





Speaking of Keira's food... we are struggling. She is having a doozy of a time learning to eat solid food. She has no interest, she just wants to nurse, thank you very much. Last week, I took her to the doctor for her 15 mos. checkup and the doctor is concerned. Her height has dropped down to the 50%, but most concerning her weight has dropped down into the 10%. Because she was concerned with the drastic drop, she wants me to come back in a month for a reweigh. Now, Scott and I have buckled down to the serious business of trying to get Keira to eat, anything. As of now, she nibbles on things, ...

I wrote this last bit almost a week ago, and the eating thing is slowly improving. Last week, I was about to write that she nibbles on things, tries to swallow, chokes, gasps, spits up and tries again. Also, as has been the case since she was six months old (same was true for Eli, too) she does not want to be fed. She want to feed herself. She is now trying to eat most of what we eat and I've been pureeing a lot of our meals since swallowing still seems to overwhelm her. The most successful meal yet was spaghetti, or I should say spaghetti sauce. She stayed so long in her high chair dipping her spoon and bread into the sauce that she outstayed most of us. It was amazing and a huge relief. Now, we have to continue working on food and most importantly drinking. She's not interested in drinking anything from a cup (or even bottle!). I've tried every sippy cup you can imagine, but, no luck, as of yet. Keep your fingers crossed.

Spending Time With Dendi and Bapa, Part I -- Grandbaby Love

While keeping an eye on our house's progress, we've spent a lot of time at Dendi and Bapa's house in the last month. Our time at their house was well documented, so this will be the first of several posts. Being at their house has allowed Eli and Keira to spend a lot of time with two of their grandparents. Here are my favorite pictures of Elijah and Keira with Dendi and Bapa over the last month or so.

Here are some of my favorites of Dendi with her Grandbabies.




Eli got in some quality time with Bapa and a giant mound of dirt on our lot.




While Eli is very comfortable with both Dendi and Bapa, Keira remains reticent at best of Bapa -- as she is of all men except for Daddy. Although, she is VERY SLOWLY warming up to him. He's discovered that if he offers his hand to her while she's walking, she may hold it and if he picks her up while she's turned away from him, she'll often sit in his lap for a few minutes. It's progress.


Keira's in love with Eli's crocs, which made this particular occasion more successful.